Your Greatest Hurt

[Adam]

Interesting discussion, JL & Amanah. For me personally, I have attended church off and on since I was a kid, first a bus kid to a huge new church in our hometown (I don't remember the denom, but it's where I first talked to God "Hey, God, it's me Adam."), then my mom took me to the Episcopal church in another town, then finally, I went with my gf & now wife to her Apostolic church, which I no longer attend for personal reasons. In all those situations, I received the most guidance from the Episcopal church, actually one-on-one directly from the Priest during my confirmation preparation. The Apostolic church experience was always just show up, pay your money, hear the pastor speak, and go home, the end. It was such a shallow experience, I eventually gave up entirely on church and God. Now, I do everything myself, read the word, apply the word, pray, talk with people I know, etc. A church building filled with strangers I never grew up with, a pastor that pretty much just puts on a performance and then won't spend time with me personally, etc. is something I can do without.

[Amanah]

Adam -

You are right, if you don't make connections in the church you are attending, the experience can be shallow.

I wonder if you got to know some of the church people outside of the church building setting and could make friendships with people if that would make a difference, maybe go to lunch with another couple from the church?

People need more then just a church service, they need a relationship with other people.

[Margies3]

Originally Posted by Amanah

Adam -

You are right, if you don't make connections in the church you are attending, the experience can be shallow.

I wonder if you got to know some of the church people outside of the church building setting and could make friendships with people if that would make a difference, maybe go to lunch with another couple from the church?

People need more then just a church service, they need a relationship with other people.

So true. I think maybe that's part of the reason this forum has survived as well as we have. We are not here to take the place of anyone's home church. We if we are honest, we all need to be in relationship with fellow believers. This has been a wonderful avenue for that to happen for many here.

[Angel48]

The hurt is constant. It's a living hell, most every day, and can only imagine death would be a relief. If there is a God, he sees the need for me to be miserable, to feel pain and loss in everything.
Obviously , it's going to be a bad day... Wish I knew how to work thru it. Bible, church, etc.... Not helping .... Feel more forsaken than ever.

[Michael The Disciple]

Originally Posted by Angel48

The hurt is constant. It's a living hell, most every day, and can only imagine death would be a relief. If there is a God, he sees the need for me to be miserable, to feel pain and loss in everything.
Obviously , it's going to be a bad day... Wish I knew how to work thru it. Bible, church, etc.... Not helping .... Feel more forsaken than ever.

Sorry friend sounds real bad. I will pray for you today. If you think it would help to share details go ahead.

[Sherri]

Well I was thinking about my greatest hurt in ministry, but compared to some of these stories, it was nothing. I kind of feel ashamed to even say I was hurting. God was faithful to get us through it, and everyone is friends again now - mainly because my husband refuses to hold a grudge and he knows that everything we have in ministry is God's anyway, not ours. He's taught me alot in those areas.

I will be praying for those of you who seem to be hurting right now. God is faithful, whether you can see Him right now or not.

[Amanah]

Originally Posted by Angel48

The hurt is constant. It's a living hell, most every day, and can only imagine death would be a relief. If there is a God, he sees the need for me to be miserable, to feel pain and loss in everything.
Obviously , it's going to be a bad day... Wish I knew how to work thru it. Bible, church, etc.... Not helping .... Feel more forsaken than ever.

Angel, when we hurt so bad that we can't go on and we feel God forsaken, that is when we are walking by faith. I've got my arms around you in prayer today sweet Sister.

Jesus knows what it is like to feel despised, rejected, bruised, spit upon and God forsaken. . .He experienced all that and then death, hell, and the grave. Just remember that after the dark night of the soul, there is a dawn coming.

[AreYouReady?]

Originally Posted by Angel48

The hurt is constant. It's a living hell, most every day, and can only imagine death would be a relief. If there is a God, he sees the need for me to be miserable, to feel pain and loss in everything.
Obviously , it's going to be a bad day... Wish I knew how to work thru it. Bible, church, etc.... Not helping .... Feel more forsaken than ever.

I can feel the pain here. Thought about this post for a little awhile. While I never imagined that death would be a relief, I have, in my life, wished I was already dead so that I would not feel the hurts I was feeling at the time.

I was told by a few people that the reason people shied away from me was because I thought too deeply, was intense and most important, they did not know how they could help me and did not want to make me feel worse.

It is not the Savior's wish for you to feel miserable.

Sometimes it was all I could do just to keep my eyes on Christ and not look to the right or to the left because they were just distractions that Satan would put in my way to keep me feeling bad.

Consider St. John chapter 10 where Jesus talks about the sheep. The thief is Satan and we are the sheep.

7 Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep.
8 All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them.
9 I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.
10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.


Satan is that thief that comes to steal, kill and destroy any happiness and joy you might have in life. But look, Christ tells us that He came to give the sheep (us) life, that we would have it more abundantly.

I have been at a time in my life when I felt I could not work through a situation that i thought would never leave. So...what I did was just stood still. Or knelt. Or flat on my face. There were times I just did not even have the words to pray. I just silently pled from my spirit to God to help me because my misery was so great I could not even talk. And...I trusted and had what little faith I could muster up go to Him to take care of my problem.

Sometimes we just have to enter in the door anyway we can and wait on Christ to minister to us...even when we feel our pain will never let up. Satan will only take what you let him take from you. Whereas Christ wants us to have our life more abundant than we can ever dream imaginable with peace, joy and laughter.

Take a close look at verse 27: My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.
30 I and my Father are one.

I promise you...this pain will not last forever if you place your trust and all this pain in the Savior's hands...and just wait on Him to show Himself mighty on your behalf.

[Aquila]

I feel like I was hurt by the church.
I've had to forgive (a struggle sometimes) and seek the Lord alone.

My wife of 12 years walking out on me to live her life her way, without God (also hurt by the church). I've had to try to forgive her and simply move on.

[Scott Hutchinson]

I've had several hurts lately,but I take it to The Lord and ask Him to heal me and help me not to be bitter and to have a right Spirit.